The Lakers can't live with him. They can't live with his lack of dominance on defense, his passiveness on offense, his ability to laugh off missed throws, his inability to get tough with Bryant, and the nagging notion that his back problems may linger for the rest of his career.

The Lakers also can't live without him. With Bryant possibly leaving the Lakers after next season, they need a star and, for as small as Howard has played this season, he still rocks the stat sheets like a star. He still leads the league with a dozen rebounds per game, he ranks among the leaders with nearly three blocks, and he's averaging 16.7 points. And despite those who think he could be leaving this summer, there are about 28 million reasons why he would stay, which is the extra money the Lakers can pay him because he already plays here.

One night, he's going for 31 and 16. The next night, he's taking five shots in 30 minutes. Some nights he fills the lane and alters every shot. Other nights, you can watch an entire half without knowing he's there.